1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a vehicle door outer handle system that enables a vehicle user's intention to unlock to be confirmed by means of a change in capacitance when the vehicle user's hand approaches or touches an operating handle, and in particular to a vehicle door outer handle system that includes an operating handle formed from a handle main body made of a synthetic resin and a cover made of a synthetic resin so as to cover the outer side of the handle main body, the operating handle being disposed on an outer side of a vehicle door and housing therewithin a pair of electrodes and a circuit board on which a detection circuit is provided for detecting a change in capacitance between the electrodes.
2. Description of the Related Art
Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2003-221949 discloses a conventional arrangement for confirming a vehicle user's intention to unlock a door, in which a capacitance sensor is disposed within an operating handle, and a vehicle user's intention to unlock a door is confirmed by means of a change in capacitance when the vehicle user's hand approaches or touches the operating handle.
However, in this conventional arrangement, since electrodes formed as members that are separate from a circuit board are connected to a detection circuit provided on the circuit board, it is necessary to secure a space for arranging the electrodes within the operating handle in addition to a space for housing the circuit board, that is, the space that has to be reserved within the operating handle is relatively large, leading to a difficulty in thinning an operating handle.